A nutritionist who has been engaged in clinical practice for more than 20 years has said this: at present, most people’s nutrition knowledge is not positive, but “negative”. Although not very apt, but in a way, this shows that many people have incorrect nutrition knowledge, and even mislead others. A colleague once told me in all seriousness: “Doctors say you can’t eat eggs with a fever,” a view that has taken root in most national perceptions. So can you eat eggs with a fever or not? 1. Where does the saying “you can’t eat eggs with a fever” come from? Whether from popular science books, newspapers and magazines, and some websites, there is a popular saying that “you can’t eat eggs with a fever”. The reason given is often that “eggs have a high protein content and when consumed with a fever, they tend to increase the body’s basal metabolic rate, which not only does not lower the body temperature, but also increases body heat, which is not conducive to recovery.” A literature search was conducted with questions. No relevant Chinese medical literature was found. However, it is reassuring to note that an article entitled “Can you eat eggs when you have a fever?”, published in the Health Times in 2009, analyzes the benefits of eating eggs for fever patients and refutes the generalized theory that “you can’t eat eggs when you have a fever”. So how much does fever affect our diet? 2, the impact of fever on our appetite for food The so-called fever, the medical term for “fever”, is a regulatory body temperature increase (more than 0.5 ℃) caused by the role of pyrogen to move up the body temperature adjustment point. Common fever activators include external pyrogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, spirochetes, malaria parasites, etc., and antigen-antibody complexes, steroids, etc., from the body. In general, the majority of what we call fever is caused by bacterial or viral infections. In the case of fever, the body temperature rises, resulting in the inhibition of the activity of digestive enzymes in the body, leading to a decrease in digestive function, especially in the case of high fever. Some digestive tract infections such as rotavirus, coxsackievirus, enterovirus infection with fever may have a more pronounced decrease in digestive function. 3. Do eggs aggravate fever? Let’s first understand the thermic effect of food, which used to be called the specific dynamics of food (SDA), a phenomenon that causes an additional increase in energy consumption due to the consumption of food. Eating carbohydrates (sugars) can increase energy expenditure by 5-6%, eating fat by 4-5%, and eating protein can increase by 30-40%. How many extra calories can be produced by protein in eggs? Let’s find out: If we eat a boiled foreign egg weighing about 65 grams with 12.8% protein content and 88% edible portion, an egg contains about 65 x 88% x 12.8% grams = 7.3 grams of protein, which is converted into 7.3 x 4 kcal = 29.2 kcal in the body and requires an additional 29.2 x 40% kcal = 12 when digested and absorbed. kcal. This extra calorie increase has a negligible effect on the body temperature of adults, and has little effect on young children. 4, the correct understanding of the nutritional value of eggs In fact, eggs have a high utilization rate of protein in the human body, which can be measured by the raw material price (raw material price response to the digestion and absorption of food protein, an indicator of the degree of utilization by the body, the higher the utilization rate of protein, that is, the higher the nutritional value of protein, the highest value of 100), eggs have a raw material price of 94, while pork is 74. That is, compared to other This means that eggs are more easily utilized by the body than other livestock meat. If eggs are not cooked in oil or fried, 1-2 eggs per day will not put much burden on the digestive system of patients with fever and cold. In addition, eggs contain a variety of vitamins, rich in various B vitamins, and vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E vitamin A. When you have a fever, the body’s metabolism is accelerated, the decomposition of proteins in the body is accelerated, and measures to help recovery such as drinking more water, urinating more, and sweating more also greatly increase the excretion of B vitamins and vitamin C. The metabolism of drugs after taking various medicines also requires the consumption of B vitamins. As you can see, it is helpful for patients to supplement the various nutrients contained in eggs when they have a fever. Fever weakens the activity of digestive enzymes, resulting in a decrease in the ability to digest food, which in turn may cause loss of appetite and poor appetite. At this time, the diet should be light and easy to digest, moderate and nutritious, can eat carbohydrate-rich cereals, some fresh vegetables and fruits, in order to maintain or improve the body’s immunity, restore health. Therefore, in addition to special contraindications really can not eat eggs, patients can eat 1-2 eggs per day, as well as moderate intake of milk, livestock meat, fish and shrimp, rather than all fever patients included in the “fever can not eat eggs” ranks. 5, which patients are contraindicated eggs? In clinical practice, children with HFMD and GI tract infections with fever are generally not given high protein foods such as eggs, although there is no direct evidence, but it may be based on reducing the burden on the GI tract to help maintain digestive function. Allergic diseases such as purpura nephritis also prohibit eggs during the onset of the disease to avoid allergy or aggravation of allergic symptoms. And those allergic to eggs should say goodbye to eggs and other egg products regardless of whether they are febrile or not.